Barkley rallies No. 13 Trojans

USC wins in its return to Utah, and it wasn’t easy

Nate Fakahafua stripped the football from Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley in the first quarter and converted it into a touchdown, but No. 13 USC rallied in the second half behind Barkley for a 38-28 win Thursday night in Salt Lake City.

SALT LAKE CITY  Matt Barkley passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns, including an 83-yarder to Marqise Lee in the fourth quarter, and No. 13 Southern California came back from a two-touchdown deficit to beat Utah 38-28 on Thursday night.

Utah (2-3, 0-2 Pac-12) forced turnovers 1 minute, 16 seconds apart to open the game, including a play by Nate Fakahafua to score from 8 yards out after stripping the ball from Barkley after a bad snap.

But the Trojans (4-1, 2-1) turned the tables in the fourth, scoring twice in a span of less than 3 minutes to turn a 3-point game into victory in their first trip to Salt Lake City in 95 years.

Barkley connected with Lee with 12:10 remaining, then cornerback Nickell Robey intercepted a pass by Jon Hays and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown.

Lee finished with 12 catches for 192 yards. The teams combined for 736 yards of offense and 222 yards in penalties.

Barkley rallies No. 13 Trojans

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

Nate Fakahafua stripped the football from Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley in the first quarter and converted it into a touchdown, but No. 13 USC rallied in the second half behind Barkley for a 38-28 win Thursday night in Salt Lake City.